It's All In The Game
by Lovely-Madness-13
Summary: When an argument arises between Jeremie and Aelita on how serious to take their battles on Lyoko, everything because all the more serious. And competitive. J/A
1. Chapter 1

Hello! Hope you enjoy another fluffy and angsty J/A fic. ^^ Stay awesome! And thanks for reading. 3

Four sets of eyes scanned a strange world, surrounded by red water and ugly fish.  
"Okay, the replica is due north, Aelita, you all should head toward it."  
"Thanks Jeremie," replied the owner of one of those sets of eyes, as she sighed. "Ulrich, you and Odd split to fight off the-"  
"Wait, you guys are splitting up?" Jeremie, his voice slightly warped by the distance between Lyoko and Earth, sounded surprised.  
"Oh...here we go..." Odd muttered from his pod.  
"Yes, Jeremie, " Aelita responded, ignoring her so-called cousin, slowly stopping the Skid so the others could get off. "It makes better sense and time-"  
"And it's more fun!" Odd interjected again.  
"It's not a game, Odd," Jeremie snapped, but Aelita cut him off softly.  
"It's alright, Jeremie, we'll be fine, you said yourself that this replica seemed deserted. It's a simple mission."  
"'Seemed', Aelita. Who knows if it really is? It's dangerous."  
"Einstein..." Ulrich and Odd started at the same time, just as Yumi sighed loudly. Aelita spoke over all of them, her mind already whizzing ahead as she typed in the coordinates to unlock the other pods. "Jeremie, it'll be fine, don't worry. XANA attacked us, now it's our turn to play."  
Jeremie huffed loudly. "It's not a game," he muttered sourly. "But go on, play the game. I'll just watch from here and not be able to do anything if you guys get yourself in trouble."  
"Oh, thanks for the vote of confidence," Ulrich drawled as he and Odd detached from the main Skid and started moving away.  
"Don't worry, Einstein, it's game we can win!" Odd bellowed, then speed off, his pod spewing bubbles in Ulrich's front window. When only silence followed, Aelita bit her lip, and looked up for a moment, an old habit she had gained from always hearing Jeremie's voice coming from the sky.  
"Jeremie, don't worry, we'll be okay. I'll-"  
"Just go, Aelita," came the sharp reply. Aelita's temper sparked, but she ignored it, setting her face and ignore the soft sound of annoyance and sympathy that echoed over the loud speaker from Yumi.  
"Okay. Let's go."

"And then Yumi destroyed the forth robot like WHAM and it looked like it blew up, didn't it Einstein, it was just like out of Sky Breaker on Ulrich's old XBOX-"  
"The one you broke last month, you mean," Ulrich and Yumi replied in unison dryly, standing side by side in the elevator as the group of them made their way back up to the top floor. The two of them grinned at each other, blushing slightly. Odd sniggered, not at all effected by the accusation, his multi-colored spiky hair bouncing as he reenacted the battle they had just finished.  
"Yeah, and I didn't know you got graphics like that on the computer screen here, Einstein," he added, reaching out to elbow the blond boy next to him. "You should program the score board so it looks like that for the robot battle next week." He elbowed him again, and Jeremie blinked, and looked up.  
"Huh?"  
"Robots," Odd told him, just as Yumi said:  
"And you said we couldn't handle it, Jeremie."  
Jeremie shrugged and didn't answer. Yumi, Ulrich and Odd looked at each other, shrugged, then looked at Aelita, who was standing in the far corner, looking at her feet. Her hands were slightly clenched together, her hair covering her face, hiding her expression. After a moment, she must have sensed the awkward silence, and looked up.  
"Huh?"  
Yumi held back a snigger at the pink haired girl's now confused expression, while the other two boys made no effort to hide their amusement. Aelita stared at them, glancing for a moment at Jeremie. He was avoiding her gaze. Her eyebrows raised slightly. What was wrong with him? He had seemed fine when he brought them back in from Lyoko- well, them as her, Ulrich and Yumi, since Odd had been devirtualized. She cocked her head to one side, watching him. After a moment, as the other three resumed their conversation, she started to reach out to him, to get his attention.  
The elevator thudded to a halt, making her jump as the doors slid open.  
"Well..." Ulrich stretched and looked slide long at Yumi. "Ready for P.S. practice?" He grinned at her as she raised her eyebrows at him. "Or are you too tired, Ishyama?"  
Yumi smirked and battered her eyelashes at him. "Challenge me, Stern, and you'll find out."  
"Oooooohhhhh... it's on..." Odd intoned, earning glares from both of them. He laughed, and ran ahead of them. "See you guys later, I gotta a date with Claire at six!" He ran off, whooping.  
Yumi, rolling her eyes, looked back at Aelita and Jeremie, who were walking apart, both with their hands in their pockets and their gazes at their feet. Smiling slightly, she paused.  
"Well, see you guys tomorrow," she said softly. Aelita looked up and smiled, but Jeremie didn't answer. Yumi looked at Ulrich, who shrugged, glanced at both of them, then sighed and shrugged again. Yumi hesitated, then the two of them headed over the bridge, leaving Jeremie and Aelita behind.  
For a moment or two, they walked in silence. Aelita's heart felt a little more heavy and confused with each step. She hesitated, then looked up at him.  
"Jeremie, you-"  
"Aelita." He abruptly stopped walking. Aelita frowned. His fists were clenched slightly, and his back was turned to her. "You're the one most connected with Lyoko, with this war. You...you of all people know how dangerous it is."  
Unsure where he was going with this, Aelita took a step toward him. "Yes, Jeremie, it is dangerous. We all know it."  
Jeremie let out a soft, short laugh that had no humor it. "Do you?"  
Aelita's eyes narrowed. "Jeremie, if you're referring to why I split up the team earlier, isn't obvious that it was a good strategy?" She took another step toward him, temper starting to bubble a little. "We won, for this round, so-"  
"Won. Round. Turn. Play. Game." Jeremie bit off the words sharply. "You're as bad as Odd, thinking that this a game." He spun suddenly, and Aelita stared at him. "It's life and death, Aelita! One wrong, risky idea could turn a 'simple mission' into a kamikaze run!" He threw up his hands, the blue eyes behind his glasses bright with anger and fear. "This isn't a game!"  
Temper boiled over before Aelita could stop it, and she glared at him, taking a step forward to get in his face. "Don't you think I know that?" She snapped, furious. "How DARE you assume you think I'm playing with this, like I don't care about what happens to the others." She poked a finger hard into his chest. "If you were in my position, you'd be doing the same thing, Jeremie Belpois, and you know it. You wanna win this war as much as I do!"  
Jeremie glared at her. "If I was in your position, Princess," he snapped, using her nickname like an insult, "we'd be done with stupid war by now! How many times have you played your game and put yourself in danger and set everything back?"  
Aelita stared at him, gobsmacked. "You think you're better than me, Jeremie?" Her angry cry echoed around the empty canyon between the factory and the shore. "You couldn't win a battle if it was in miniature toys!"  
"No, I'd win because at least the toys wouldn't be reckless and stupid enough to risk their lives and everyone else to gain life points! They'd actually listen to me!"  
"Stupid?"  
For a moment, silence echoed between them. Jeremie's face seemed to clear of anger after a second, and his eyes widened when he realized what he said.  
"Aelita-" He reached out, an apology on his lips, already feeling the fool. But she stepped out of his reach, her eyes narrowed and vivid green.  
"I'm not your pawn, Jeremie, nor am I your toy. If you want me to be, you're no worse than XANA itself." Before Jeremie could reply, she spun on her heel and walked away.  
Jeremie stared at her, then scowled.  
"Fine!" He bellowed at her back. "At least XANA's robots listen to what he tells them to do!"  
His own voice echoed back at him, sounded frailer and more idiotic with each ripple of sound. As his anger faded slowly, Jeremie looked down and kicked at the ground. Great job, he thought at himself, as guilt quickly began to swell into where fury had been. All you want to do is protect her, yet all you do is insult her and make her mad. Awesome.  
In the back of his head, Aelita's words swirled. Couldn't win a battle...if you were in my position...  
"I'll show her," he muttered, his head snapping up. "I can make robots with better strategies than she has." Ignoring the guilt that still spread in his heart, he stomped off, the angry words spewed from the girl he loved still spinning his brain.


	2. Chapter 2

"Playing a game...stupid...who is he to order me around anyway?"  
"Aelita?"  
"What do I look like, any way...some china doll that'll just blow away in the wind-"  
"Only if said doll had pink hair and could spit nails, maybe."  
Aelita's head jerked up, and she stared at the girl leaning causally against the door frame. Yumi's dark eyes were widened slightly, and she raised her eyebrows at her.  
"Yah know, Aelita, if you yelled any louder Jeremie actually might be able to hear you in the boys dorm."  
Aelita's face flushed. "Well...I...I uh..." Seeing the look at her friends face, she sighed and gave up, putting a hand to her forehead. "Whoops. I didn't realize I was yelling... ." She winced. "Sorry."  
Yumi smiled, and moved forward to put a gentle hand on the younger, shorter girl's shoulder. "Don't worry, you were just muttering really loudly." Aelita smiled a little, then sighed again, frowning. Yumi, noticing this, cocked her head to one side, concerned. "You guys got into a row, huh?"  
Blinking quickly against the sudden, annoyingly persistent sting of tears that threatened to cover her gaze, Aelita shrugged. "I...I don't know...I..." She sighed loudly, and spun away sit hard on the bed. "He's...Jeremie...he's so over protective." Yumi smiled wryly, and nodded.  
"That maybe one of the understatements of the century," she said softly, but Aelita didn't smile.  
"Does he think I don't remember how many times we've almost lost our lives doing this?" Hating the hitch of tears in her voice, Aelita shook her head sharply, and kept going, avoiding the other girl's gaze. "How can he think that I'm just playing around? That he can just control me like some robot, some toy?"  
"He just doesn't want to see you hurt, Aelita, you know that." Yumi's voice was quiet and gentle, and Aelita forced herself to take a deep breath. I sound like such a whinny baby, she realized, suddenly annoyed at herself. No wonder Jeremie thinks I can't handle it...but...  
"I don't want to see him hurt either," she admitted softly, shaking her head. "I don't want any of you hurt." She frowned, the anger come back as her mind whirled. "He understands the responsibility of being the guide and guardian of those in Lyoko, but yet I'm not allowed to shoulder the same responsibility myself?" She threw up her hands, blowing an angry breath through clenched teeth. "I can fight now, I'm not that little fragile 'Princess'-" she made finger quotes around the nickname sarcastically, "' who can't do a thing anymore.'"  
Yumi sighed slightly, watching as the pink haired girl tried to reel her temper back in. "You're right," she agreed, smiling a little. "We've all changed. Maybe you most of all. Jeremie isn't the exactly the biggest fan of change, though."  
Aelita gave an unladylike snort. "No kidding."  
Yumi smiled, watching her closely. "Maybe he still needs you to need him like you once did." Aelita stared at her, surprised. Yumi raised her eyebrows at her. She'd struck a nerve. Interesting. "Didn't you need him, back then?"  
Aelita turned as pink as her hair and shrugged. "I didn't know anything...he was my first connection to this world, Yumi. My very first human friend. Of course I needed him." Despite her anger at him, memories flashed, and she couldn't help smiling a little at how he had been then. "He was everything, a voice that came from the sky, a voice in my head, I think, almost. He was so incredible..." realizing what she was saying, she blushed brighter and shut up. Yumi smiled, nodding.  
"I wouldn't be surprised if he felt something very similar toward you. I think you know he does." Aelita's cheeks went from fading pink to magenta, but she shrugged.  
"If he cared about me-"  
"You cling to the one's you love the most," Yumi cut her off gently. "And sometimes you hurt the ones you love. That's life. Toki doki. I bet if you were in his position, you'd do the same."  
"No, I-" Aelita started, then stopped, her own words from earlier echoing in her head. 'If you were in my position...' Confused and frustrated, she hid her face in her hands as Yumi continued.  
"However, that doesn't mean that Jeremie wasn't wrong about what he said. You're your own woman, and he needs to realize that."  
Aelita looked up at her slowly, a small, wry smile on her lips. "How's he gonna realize that, huh?" She shook her head. "Jeremie's a genius, but he can be an stubborn, proud-"  
"So can you," Yumi interjected, and grinned at the little glare Aelita sent her. Aelita hesitated, then smiled again.  
"Okay, yeah, maybe." She winced, then sighed again. "But still, how am I supposed to make him realize anything, especially that? He's..." She shrugged. "It's funny, he accuses me of thinking of this war like a game, but yet he wants to control me and protect me like I'm the queen on the board, and I'm not. Non of us are."  
"He's not trying to protect us, Aelita. At least, not as much. He's still set on saving you."  
Aelita blushed, shaking her head. "He did. A million times over. He's saved as all. But still..."  
Yumi hesitated, then leaned forward a little. "You know what, Aelita? You play chess, right?" Aelita blinked at her, nodding. Yumi smiled. "Well, then, show him he's not the only one who has control. He may not think so, but he's thinking of it as a game even more than you are."  
Aelita smiled wryly. "I guess you're right, Yumi, but how-"  
"Play his game," Yumi told her, smiling. "That's how guys learn stuff from us girls. We have to play them at their own game. The way you do it is up to you. But play his game, Aelita." Her smile widened as she met Aelita's gaze. "And beat him."  
Aelita stared at her for a moment. Slowly, a small smile grew on her face as her eyes sparkled slightly. Yumi grinned, knowing that look. This would be interesting.  
"Oh...Aelita...I almost forgot-" Aelita looked at her, trying to bring her brain back into reality. "Ulrich mentioned something about Jeremie doing the robot battle next week, and that he need help or something. Were you going to-" Aelita shook her head, her expression suddenly quite focused, a tiny smirk playing on her lips.  
"Thanks, Yumi," she said softly, standing. Already her mind spun ahead, her room far away. Ideas began to settle quickly into place. "I...I think I have some things to do."

One day, 13 hours, and five minutes later, Jeremie Belpois paced back and forth in his room, muttering to himself.  
"If she's still mad...of course she'll be, you idiot, you were a jerk- but still, she...no, wait, I'm just trying to help her, why did she have to go off on me like that? But still...it's my fault, if I went to apologize, didn't lose my head, maybe she'd listen...I am SUCH an idiot..." Infuriated with his own temper, trying to ignore the argument between his head and heart, Jeremie glared at his computer, which was currently scanning Lyoko, once again, for any sign of XANA activity. Next to it sat the beginnings of what supposed to be his battle robot for the tournament on Friday. Kiwi 3.0. Before his stupidity yesterday afternoon, he had planned on asking Aelita to help him build it. Jeremie now ignored the pile of metal gears and wires, and instead turned toward the door. "Well, not time like now to start groveling," he muttered, and taking a deep breath, headed out the door.  
Why was it such a long walk to the girl's dormitory? The more steps he took, the harder his heart pounded. He had said such cruel things to her, yesterday, he had been such an fool. She had ever right to be mad at him...but he had to apologize. To explain. To...  
He jerked to a halt, blinking. How'd he get to her door so quickly? Suddenly terrified, he swallowed, took a deep breath, and raised his hand to knock on the door.  
"Jeremie?"  
The blond boy jumped about a foot, his glasses almost falling off his face. Barely catching his balance, he spun, and faced the very girl he had come to see. Despite everything, his heart did a loop-i-loop in his chest, as it always did when ever he came face to face with her.  
"A-A- Aelita!" He tried to catch his breath, and attempted to smile apologetically. Aelita's wide green eyes narrowed slightly.  
"Hello, Jeremie," she said coolly, and his heart sank a little. "Looking for someone one?"  
"Uh, yeah, you, I was wondering...I mean...I need to talk to you-"  
Aelita smiled up into his face, and for a moment, hope made his heart beat a little faster. "Oh, really?" Then her eyes narrowed again. "I'm sorry, Jeremie, but I don't really have the time right now." She slid past him. "There's somethings I have to work on before the weekend."  
Jeremie stared at her as she opened the door to her room. "Aelita, it's Monday, why-"  
Aelita turned, and took a step back toward him. "Don't worry about it, Jeremie," she told him softly, meeting his gaze. Jeremie blinked, almost taking a step back. How had she gotten so close in a single step? Her face was barely inches from his. His heartbeat jumped into high gear and his brain went to mush.  
"W-worry? About what?"  
God, he sounded like an idiot. He winced and tried to think straight. Aelita smiled slightly, which didn't help matters.  
"Nothing," she said softly. "It's not your turn to know yet." Jeremie stared at her, nonplussed, and her smile went wider, slightly twisted into a smirk at the corners. "I'll let you know when the game's started."  
Realize what she meant, Jeremie's face went red, then went white. "Aelita- please, let me appolg-"  
"I'll see you later," Aelita said softly, cutting him off and closing the door in his face.  
Jeremie gapped, his heart dropping like a stone.  
Crap. Crap. She wasn't just mad at him. She was furious. Insulted beyond repair, it seemed. Crap. Jeremie's fists clenched, and without a backward glance, he walked off, his gaze on his feet.


	3. Chapter 3

"You guys can't keep this up all week," Odd announced two days later, glancing nervously back and forth between the two silent geniuses at the lunch table. Aelita sat on the opposite side of the table, between Yumi and Ulrich, and was wordlessly picking at her lunch. Jeremie, sitting next to Odd, didn't even make an effort to eat. Instead, he seemed to be intent on the mechanics book he was reading.  
"Keep what up?" Aelita said softly, looking up, her expression blank.  
Ulrich and Odd looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Um...the fact that if either of you sat still for too long, you'd probably turn into ice from the cold," Ulrich muttered, then actually winced at the look Aelita and Yumi both gave him.  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Aelita said softly. "If something's wrong with...with him, ask him, not me."  
"Nothing's wrong with me," Jeremie said suddenly, not looking up. He turned a page, but his knuckles were white from clenching the book so tightly. "I've almost got the robot done, by the way, Odd," a tone of utter disinterest in his voice. "Maybe you'd like to see it?"  
"I wonder if it will follow his orders like a good little dead thing," Aelita muttered, but didn't look up to see the flash of anger and regret in Jeremie's eyes when he glanced her way. "Maybe it'll win the game for him. What do you think, Yumi?"  
The Japanese girl traded a gaze with her, and raised her eyebrows. "I think it'll be interesting match on Friday."  
Aelita nodded. "I have some things to do," she said softly, and without another word, stood and left."  
Ulrich and Odd looked at Yumi, obviously hoping for an explanation. She shook her head slightly and shrugged. Aelita had told her the truth, but that didn't mean she'd go spilling. The boys would find out eventually. She sighed, and went back to her lunch. Interesting indeed.

Two days passed. Nothing changed. Aelita felt strange. Had she gone this long before without talking to Jeremie? Somewhere in her heart doubt began to surface. What if she was doing the wrong thing, being just as stubborn as he was?  
And Jeremie was acting so strangely. One moment he'd reach out to her during class, with that look on his face as if he was about to apologize, to say something kind and sweet, like he did so often. Aelita felt her heart yearn a little for him, and ignored it. He had also been cold and rude to her, she reminded herself. And she wasn't doing anything to him but teaching a lesson. One he needed to learn.  
We both have things to learn, she thought wryly, staring at the clock on during Friday's art class. It was hard to concentrate now, thinking about him, being angry at him, yet missing him at the same time. She sighed, and forced herself to pay attention to the lesson.  
Across the room, Jeremie was trying not to watch her. He couldn't help it. She looked so sad over there, staring at her hands. Even now, his arms twitched, as if he watched to hold her. Stop it, he ordered himself. She's been cold to you all week. She'd see how well the robot battle went, she'd understand how how much he just wanted to help her. He was positivity.  
Or...at least that's what he told himself.  
His stomach cramped and he sighed, giving up on pretending to pay attention. As the bell rang moments later, he tried to make a bee line for Aelita. Maybe if she just let him get a word in-  
"Attention- all contestants in tonight's Multi-District Robot War, please come to your respective group leader rooms, now."  
Jeremie blinked. Already? He glanced around to see if he could find Aelita, but she had vanished in the crowd.  
A little while later, he stood, waiting in the back of the gym, pacing. He could hear the tournament going on, muffled by the doors that cut that section off from the rest of the gym. The sound, however, was just white noise to his brain as his thoughts whirled. Would Aelita even been there? What if she hadn't come? What if she still wouldn't listen to him, wouldn't accept his apology?  
"Belpois. Belpois!"  
Jeremie's head jerked up and he looked around widely. Jim was standing at the doors, watching him. Jeremie blushed, and looked around, his eyes going wide. Was he really the last one?  
"You're the defending champion, remember?" Jim came over and clamped him on the back. "Now it's up to you defend our gender. Good luck, kid."  
Jeremie stared at him. "Uh...thanks, Jim." His brain barely on the game that was ahead, he walked forward, and through the door.  
"And NOW, for the battle royal, the all time fight for Kadic Academy's All Time Robot Fighting Champions...Kiwi 3.O, defending Champion, and new comer, the incredible, magnetic, A2J2!"  
A2J2? Jeremie looked around, blinking against all the bright light and sound. What kind of robot name was that? He scanned the crowd, hunting for a familiar pink head of hair.  
Nothing.  
Turning back, he looked across the gym at who ever he was against, wondering vaguely who came up with such a name. Instead, all he saw, rolling toward center of the gym, was a small black ball. Then he blinked, and stared.  
Wait, was that...  
Gasping, he looked up - and into the eyes of his opponent. His jaw dropped.  
Aelita smiled, walking out slowly after the tiny mega-tank as it stopped in the center of the gym.  
"Hello, Jeremie."


	4. Chapter 4

The whole crowd had erupted into sound, cheering and screaming. Music, some loud curving thing, began to boom from unseen speakers.  
It was all white noise to Jeremie.  
She walked out slowly behind her machine, a small smirk playing on her lips. Her eyes, never leaving his, were narrowed and determined. Every movement she made seemed as curved as the music, the clingy neon pink and black dress she wore swinging in perfect time to her steps, to the rhythm of the music that was slowly pounding it's way into his brain.  
God she was beautiful. Furious. And beautiful.  
Reaching the center of the gym, she stopped and raised an eyebrow at him. He almost dropped the controller to his own robot, his numb fingers twitching uncontrollably.  
He could barely breathe, let alone think enough to move forward. What was this? Why was she doing this? How...  
Without realizing, he, too, moved into the center of the gym. Aelita cocked her head to one side, her smirk quivering slightly. Was she laughing at him? Jeremie didn't know, didn't really care.  
"Game on."  
The murmur was quiet, almost gentle, yet it his ears it was far louder than the crowd or the music. Aelita, watching his expression closely, smiled again and held out a hand as if to shake his.  
"Why?"  
Aelita's eyes narrowed, and she dropped her hand as the referee- a wide-eyed Herve in an ill fitting stripped uniform- called out the names of the contestants and the robots.  
"Don't you know?" She replied, even as she and Jeremie took the necessary five steps back before beginning the battle. "Now it's time see what would happen if you actually could control your warriors." Her eyes narrowed. "And just how far my 'game', as you call it, can go."  
Jeremie stared. "Aelita, I...please, you don't have to go this far too-"  
Aelita smiled again, shaking her head slowly. "Jeremie, you're not playing the game properly already, and we haven't even begun." She held a finger to her lips. "It's your turn."  
Jeremie had all but forgot how to use Kiwi 3.0. His hands still trembling from shock and awe, he slowly lifted his controller. The canine robot barked metallically, the crowd cheered, and Aelita's smirk widened.  
The game had begun.  
Aelita's heart was pounding as she watched her robot and Jeremie's entangle in another wrestling match that filled the air with the sound of grinding gears and metal. She had to give him credit, Kiwi 3.0 was stronger than it looked. Twice she had noticed the teeth on the thing actually made dents in her A2J2's shell. However, her very own megatank seem to be winning. Three times it had caused Jeremie's robot to malfunction, bring her points. She smirked as one of the hind legs of 3.0 began to smoke again. Another point for her.  
The surprise had defiantly been a good idea, she realized as she watched him. Jeremie's eyes were now just starting to narrow in full concentration, and yet he still would glance at her, the blue of his eyes bright and wild. Aelita tried to ignore the little squeeze of guilt in her heart she felt at the look of confusion on his face. Would he apologize after she beaten him? Would he stomp off in anger? A worry in the back of her mind warned her that she had gone to far, but she ignored it. She needed to show him, to prove to him, that he didn't need to protect her anymore. That she could make decisions and risks herself. That she could protect the others, protect him, just as well. It was her war just as much as it was his, that it was theirs.  
At first she didn't notice it. The strange, soft sound in the air. The score board above their heads blinked, buzzed at wrong moments, but no one seem to care. Just as her tank opened once more to fire it's tiny lasers at the diving Kiwi 3.0, a loud boom echoed around the gym.  
Aelita jerked back, forgetting the game, the battle. Across the gym, Jeremie too had stopped playing. Their gazes met, no longer angry, sad, concerned, loving, confused.  
"XANA." They whispered it in unison, just as another boom sounded, the gym floor shaking under their feet.  
"Earthquake!" someone screamed, just as a third thundering boom came, and dust began to fall from the ceiling. Cracks spidered across the floor, crawling up the walls.  
Chaos broke out as students and adults alike ran headlong for the exits. Aelita raced toward Jeremie, dropping her controller, totally forgetting about the game, about her anger. He was standing there, trying not to get trampled by the mass of people now surging out of the area. Large chunks of granite began to fall from the ceiling, one narrowly missing him. Pure relief surged through Aelita when she finally reached him, and grabbed his hand in hers.  
"Come on, let's go."  
Jeremie nodded, and they turned, racing toward the back door they had come through as contestants. It was the quickest way out toward the factory- and right back into danger again.

"This is just stupid," Odd panted five minutes later as they raced through the tunnels. He and Ulrich had caught up with Jeremie and Aelita in the forest, while Yumi had warned them- in a panicked call to Aelita's cell phone- that she'd be at the factory as soon as she got out of her quickly-falling-apart house.  
"XANA's done this before, a couple years ago." Odd sighed, shaking his head even as he jumped off his skateboard. "All his ideas are running out. That's cause we're awesome!"  
"No you're not, dude, don't lie," Ulrich muttered under his breath, but Jeremie interrupted them before Odd could reply.  
"Sorry, guys, but you can pummel each other later. Let's go."  
"Sir, yes sir!"  
Only a few minutes later, the five of them, including Yumi who had been standing, pacing at the end of the bridge, raced into the supercomputer room.  
"It looks like XANA doesn't realize we're here," Aelita muttered over Jeremie's shoulder as she read the multiple readouts on the screen. "He went after the dorms first." A chill went through them all at the thought.  
"That means we gotta hurry." Yumi and Odd were already heading toward the door to the elevator, Ulrich close behind. Aelita looked at Jeremie, who turned back to glance at her. His eyes were bright behind his glasses, which had a crack in them.  
"Jeremie, we have to go," she told him softly, reaching out to touch his face for a second. What was the sudden quivering in her stomach, in her heart, that made her so warm, so confused? Jeremie's eyes widened, and for a moment, nothing moved. Then, after a breath, he nodded.  
"Go, but be careful." Aelita nodded, gave him a small smile.  
"Don't worry, Jeremie," she said softly, backing away. "I know it's not a game." When Jeremie's eyebrows raised, she smiled a little wider, and went to join the others.  
"Scanner Odd, Scanner Ulrich. Transfer Odd. Transfer Ulrich."  
"Virtualization," Aelita muttered under her breath along with Jeremie as she and Yumi quickly stepped into the scanners that, moments ago, had been occupied by the boys. She watched the doors close, heard Jeremie's voice repeat the commands into the computer, felt the rush of air and emotion that always came with each and every time she went back to Lyoko.  
When she opened her eyes, that thrill multiplied and she raised her head to look around.  
Ulrich and Odd were already engaged in a tussle with three crabs, and Yumi was racing toward them to join the madness. Aelita's eyes narrowed, and she smiled thinly.  
"Game. Set. Match."


	5. Chapter 5

"What was that about a game, Princess?"  
Aelita glanced up- way up- and into Odd's grinning face as he hovered above her. She smiled innocently, flicking her wrist. "Oh, nothing."  
"Animal! Princess! We really could use some help over here!"  
Airborne now, Aelita felt the digital air filter through her wings as she raced to help Yumi and Ulrich. The neo-samurai was currently racing at top speed, dispatching monsters left and right while Yumi gracefully flipped over two monsters and beheaded them both. Landing, the geisha turned and grinned up at Aelita, who had landed silently on the over hanging rock above her. Her fingers still itched and sparked with the left-over pink flashes of the energy fields that just taken out the monster trying to impale Ulrich a few feet away.  
"Speaking of games, Aelita-" Yumi began, smiling even as she tried to catch her breath. "I heard about the challenge you've issued to-" she jerked her head upwards, indicating Jeremie. When Aelita raised an eyebrow, Yumi raised her voice a little. "Competition- always a good way to get the man's attention." If she had been on earth, Aelita would have turned bright red. Instead, she just shook her head and ducked a laser, sending an energy field back at the attacker.  
"What are you, a dating guru?" Odd bellowed as he whizzed by, blasting another monster.  
"No," Yumi answered, grinning. "You guys are just too predictable!" Aelita giggled and jumped off the rock, moving into the air again.  
"Good job, guys." Jeremie's voice was wry, which made Aelita grin. He had obviously heard Yumi's last comment. "The activated tower is due west, so better hurry." A soft rumble echoed after his words, and Aelita felt her heart clench a little.  
"Jeremie?" She could just see, in the back of her mind, the factory starting to be struck by the earthquake that enveloped the school. With Jeremie right in the middle of it. A shudder went down her spine.  
"Don't worry, Aelita," he replied, although she through she heard a tremor of panic in his voice now. "Just hurry."  
Aelita looked back at the others, and nodded. "Lets go."  
The four of them took off, Aelita's eyes now set on the far off tower that blazed with red. Suddenly- quite suddenly- something slammed into her.  
"Ow!"  
"OY!"  
"Yumi, what the-" THUD.  
"Hey, what's gotten-"  
"Guys! Aelita! What happened, are you hurt?"  
Aelita stood slowly, frowning. "Nothing bruised but my dignity," she muttered, looking at her friends. They, too, were standing slowly, looking at each other. "But this is strange..." Confused, she put her hand out, and felt it push back against her arm. A barrier. An invisible barrier. She glanced around, looking for inconstancies in the layout, but she saw nothing. Just the carved rocks of the gorge they were in.  
"XANA really is running out of ideas." Aelita, pulling her hand back, glanced up at the sky. "Jeremie. What do you see?"  
"Nothing is out of the ordinary here," Jeremie answered, sounding more nervous. "What happened?"  
"There's a blockade," Ulrich answered before Aelita could reply.  
"That shouldn't be a problem," Odd said suddenly, and lifted his fist.  
Aelita jumped towards him- "Odd, No!" but it was too late. With a deafening crash, Odd's laser banged against the invisible shield and ricocheted back towards them, bouncing off the walls.  
"Odd, you dorkwad, you wanna kill us?" Ulrich yelped, crouching to avoid being hit.  
"The only way to get rid of the barrier is to crack the code," Aelita said softly, ignoring the laser as it finally bounced out of harms way into the sky. "That's what we did last time." She looked up at the sky. "Jeremie?"  
Silence. Aelita's heart leapt into her throat. What if...  
"Jeremie?"  
"Aelita! Aelita, guys, I was wrong, that isn't an activated tower. It's an illusion."  
Odd put a hand on his hip and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and your middle name is Paul. Jeremie, come on, we can see it!"  
"No, he's right." Aelita took a step back, and hummed softly. The rock around them rippled slightly and her eyes narrowed. There. There it was. It rippled with the rock, attached to it like some sort of net. Yumi gasped, and Aelita know the others could see it too.  
"So XANA wants to play hide and seek, huh?" Odd pipped up, and leapt back on his overboard.  
"Odd, not the game thing again, not now!" The sudden panic in Jeremie's voice made all four of them look up sharply. "The earthquakes here, and what's worse, XANA's sending more reinforcements."  
"So what, we stand here like dead ducks and wait until you crake the code?"  
"Yes."  
Aelita's eyes narrowed. "Jeremie, there's a better way."  
"Aelita, please not, now-"  
"I'm not standing here and waiting for that ceiling to fall on your head while you figure out the code, Jeremie," Aelita replied softly. "None of us are. We're not good little dead robots, remember?"  
Yumi, Odd and Ulrich looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Uh-oh. Here they go again.  
"Aelita-"  
"I got an idea, Jeremie, let me do it. You keep trying, and maybe-"  
"It's too risky!" Jeremie was shouting now, his voice high with fear and frustration. "Aelita, I can't lose you, stop playing around-"  
"I'm NOT playing, this is NOT a game!" Aelita's voice didn't raise, but still her words echoed through the canyon. "This is life and death, and I can't risk you having to make that choice for us. Have you ever considered the fact that I- I mean, that WE can't lose you either? Let me do this, if you were in my place, you do the same thing!"  
For a moment, there was silence, except for the soft rumbling sound of the earthquake on earth that was coming closer and closer. Then-  
"Fine. Go. I almost got it, so maybe if-"  
"Okay." Aelita nodded, cutting him off and racing upwards instantly. Her heart racing, she glanced down at her friends. "On the count of five, I'm gonna hit the barrier here." She pointed to where it was in line with the top of the canyon. "When I do, all of you aim at the middle of the barrier, which is right where you are now. It should explode, so watch out."  
"Aelita-"  
"It's okay, Jeremie, it's all in the game," she whispered, closing her eyes. In the distance behind her, she could hear the sound of more enemy robots approaching. Above her, she heard the soft rumble of danger, and the softer sound of Jeremie muttering to himself nervously as he tried to crack the code of the barrier. Her heart stopped for a moment.  
"One...two..." Her eyes flickered open. "Three...four..."  
"FIVE!"  
As one, all four them threw their weapons at the barrier. Above them, Aelita thought she heard Jeremie yell something about cracking, but the code or the ceiling was doing the cracking, she couldn't tell which. With a deafening boom, the invisible barrier went white, then shattered explosively in all directions.  
Her heart pounding, Aelita glanced behind her again, to see all the robots had stopped, apparently in shock. She smiled.  
"Checkmate."  
"Well played Aelita," Jeremie said softly, and despite still rumbling earthquake, Aelita could hear the warmth and relief in his voice.  
"Hey, Einstein, I thought you said it wasn't a game!" Yumi called, grinning.  
"Ohhh, everything's a game, Yumi," Odd said loudly, flipping back onto his board. "Love, Lyoko, war, school, girlfriends...ya win, ya lose, you know. "  
"What are you, Odd, a love guru?" Aelita, Yumi, Jeremie and Ulrich quipped in unison. Before they could laugh, however, a threatening rumble broke out and Jeremie yelped.  
"Sorry, guys, but it's not over yet." Another rumble sounded, and his voice went up notch in fear, along with Aelita's heart rate. "Please get going?"  
"Already on it, Einstein," Ulrich called, as Aelita flipped open her wings once more and jumped into the air.  
"Aelita-"  
"It's okay, Jeremie, the tower's even closer than XANA's illusion. And the other are in no danger." Despite her own words, Aelita felt relief flood through her as she slipped into the sanctuary of the tower. They were safe. Her friends were safe. And Jeremie was safe.  
"No, Aelita...I, I wanted to apologize. For what I said last week. It was uncalled for and untrue."  
"Jeremie, it's okay, I said stupid things too, so-"  
"It's not okay. You are just as capable as the others, and I should've never tried to stop you-."  
"I forgive you Jeremie," Aelita replied softly, cutting him off. "It's okay." She smiled, and stepped at the second platform.  
"So, about the robot battle-"  
Aelita's smile widened. The Code: Lyoko flashed at her, and she looked up toward his voice. "I said I forgive you, Jeremie Paul Belpois. That doesn't mean I'm going to let you win."  
"Wait- what-"  
"Hey, Einstein, can you do the thing now?" Even inside the tower, Aelita could still hear Odd shout. She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing, and closed her eyes, waiting.  
"What- oh, Return to the Past, Now!"


	6. Chapter 6

"-Kiwi 3.0 Defending Champion, and new comer, the incredible, magnetic A2J2!"  
Green and blue gazes locked across the gym. Despite the white noise of the crowd, and the music, for a moment, neither moved. Aelita smirked a little, and moved forward, holding her hand out toward him. When they both reached the center of the gym, her smile widened.  
"May the best warrior win," she challenged softly. To her surprise, Jeremie reached out and took her hand in his.  
"Let the games begin," he replied, his eyes never leaving hers. Then, before she could respond, he lifted her hand he held to his lips, and kissed gently.  
Aelita stared at him. Her heart, already pounding with the excitement of the battle, spiked into over drive. Slowly, she pulled her hand from his grip, rubbing the spot slowly where he had kissed her. Trying to ignore the warmth on her skin that seemed to spread from that area, she numbly stepped back.  
Then, once again, her gaze met his. They both raised their controllers.  
And the games began.

"I'm still telling you, Princess has the better model!"  
"That's because it looks like a freaking mega tack, you dorkwad."  
"And you're SCARED of them, Ulrich, so what?"  
"Jeremie's model is superior in agility," Aelita interrupted the two arguing roommates, smiling. The championship had ended some time ago, and now she, Jeremie, and the other two boys were walking back to the dorms.  
"It's too bad Yumi couldn't come, she was stuck at her house," Ulrich muttered.  
"Yeah, so then you could be with your lady love," Odd teased, and ducked easily when Ulrich tried to hit him.  
"You're gonna be the lady, Odd, once I'm done with you!" THe blond and purple haired boy squeaked in mock fear, and ran off, his roommate hot in his heels.  
Aelita and Jeremie rolled their eyes at each other.  
"Odd was right, though, Aelita," Jeremie said after a moment, chancing a glance at her. She was smiling, and looked up at him. "Your A2J2 was better than mine, so it's fair-"  
Aelita shook her head. "Nothing's fair, Jeremie." She smirked at him. "No games, remember?" Jeremie grinned sheepishly and shrugged.  
"Well, maybe. " He stopped walking, and Aelita did too.  
"Maybe we could work on rebuilding both of them," the pinkette suggested, smiling up at him again. "Then when it comes around, I really don't have to go easy on you."  
Jeremie laughed, and raised his eyebrows at her. "So, you were just playing a game with me the whole time?"  
For some reason, Aelita felt a blush threaten to creep up her face. "Of course not Jeremie. But's like Odd said in Lyoko, everything's a game in someway. War, friendship, learning, love-"  
"Well." When did Jeremie's face get so close to hers? Suddenly very aware of how he was mere inches away from her, Aelita stared up at him, unable to move. He was blushing now, she realized, but his smile only widened.  
"If love's a game, Aelita.." he hesitated, then closed the gap between them for a moment.  
For a millisecond, Aelita could have sworn her breath stopped even as her heart seemed to quietly burst open.  
A second later, Jeremie pulled back, his eyes brighter than before as they looked into hers. "Then I'm playing for keeps."  
With that, he turned around, and walked back towards the boys dormitories. Aelita stood there, quite still. Then, slowly, she lifted her hand, touched her finger tips to her lip, stunned. Her lips trembled, then curved in a smile as she watched him go.  
"And so am I."


End file.
